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Funny you should say that but upto a few years ago I worked in restoration and lime was in almost constant use and sometimes over ordered so I have ended up with a few bags that would have ended up in a skip. Ok so it does chemically change slowly over time but the bags are sealed so I should be ok for not buying new lime for a bit.
Getting off the compost subject and back to the original thread I'm happy to say we haven't brought much in the way of anything new so far and several christmas presents weren't new either. My daughter had a x box and games which were second hand or pre owned as they prefer to call it. She did have a few new books as did I but also some that came from the charity shop.

It's taken some time to find a new gardening fleece second hand. The last one I paid £2.50 for and it lasted me I think about five years till you could see the holes in it. Have a new one since yesterday - but it cost me £4.50!!!!! There's inflation even in charity shops!

I was looking for a slightly baggy one which is what took the time. You see you need a little baggy to be able to garden but not so baggy that it looks outsize.

Flo wrote:It's taken some time to find a new gardening fleece second hand. The last one I paid £2.50 for and it lasted me I think about five years till you could see the holes in it. Have a new one since yesterday - but it cost me £4.50!!!!! There's inflation even in charity shops!

Charity shops certainly don't seem to be charitable towards their customers anymore... Only the (relatively) rich can afford to buy there!

I was just looking at the list to see whether the things I bought today count as exceptions, because I feel they ought to. I'm amused that things like massages and music downloads - which are definitely off my list - are excepted. I suppose it's about not accumulating new stuff, rather than being anti-consumerist as such.

I bought a new gimlet to replace the one that broke just before Christmas (but resisted needle files, as I feel more able to live without those), stove rope to improve the seals on the wood stove, mortar and plaster for the fireplace surround, and seeds - potatoes, onions and sweet peas. I think these would mostly count as household repairs or food, though I'm not sure about the sweet peas. Wouldn't your hosepipes be the same kind of thing, Flo? I also intended to buy a tide table, but forgot.

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Rachel

Take nobody's word for it, especially not mine! If I offer you an ID of something based on a photo, please treat it as a guess, and a starting point for further investigations.

Sweet peas are definitely essential. I pick big bunches including the foliage and sell them, I also give bunches away to people I want to cheer up, so in the summer you can save loads of money buying people gifts, sure who doesn't like a big bunch of fragrant sweet peas. I do get massages, but they are sort of free as I do a skill swap by doing the cleaning at the clinic.

If you want a productive growing area for fruit and veg you need flowers to help the pollinators. So sweet peas count as essentials if that's your flower of choice. Of course the remains at the end of the season go on the compost heap which is necessary for future soil improvement.

Such indulgence , buying a new hose I've got a several hoses some of which were my father's some of which have several repairs. Just simple repairs of a short bit of copper pipe and two jubilee clips , looks a bit rough but it does the job.

Erm slight problem with the repairs Skippy - no copper pipe or jubilee clips so would have to obtain. Trouble is that there were two kinks in the destroyed hosepipes which had been causing problems for years and when one punctured, well I expected the other to follow in short order. Lets just say I could have replaced the one length with a very long one at more than the price of two shorter ones with the appropriate connectors included which - when attached to the length that was still good - do go all the way round the allotment. Which didn't happen previously. It had been suggested for some years that another hose would help.

No pipe or clips ? Granted that is a problem. I suppose I've always lived in a house where there were always tubs of various bits and bobs , fixings , bolts and what have you so there was always something lying around to repair things with , it was rare to see something that may come in handy chucked away. We never made it on to a telly programme about hoarding but there were some who said we should even if we were often their first call if they needed something or other.

'fraid not Skippy. Last time I had access to a treasure trove of spares for every eventuality was on the farm where there was a "tool shed" which accumulated wondrous things. No idea what happened to them when the tenancy was given up as they weren't the sort of things you could sell - well not unless you found a customer who also accumulated spares.

Next door neighbour got on the bus as well, turns out he had just such an item doing nothing in his shed and due to go in rubbish bin. I now have the required small shovel. Just need to take the shovel and bucket to the nearest grit bin now.

Puts hand up and says she bought a pair of shoes because she doesn't do second hand shoes. And two pairs of trousers to back up the gardening ones which are getting very well worn. There has been nothing in the local charity shops so went for new. Only reason is that I've put a bit of weight back on over the winter and the ones I was hoping to use for the gardening are far too tight.